Aust exec replaces Musk as Tesla chair

Tesla says Australia's Robyn Denholm has taken Elon Musk's place as chair of the company's board.

UpdatedUpdated 8 November

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Tesla says Robyn Denholm of Australia's Telstra has been appointed as chair of its board, replacing Elon Musk.

Tesla had until November 13 to name an independent board chairman under the settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which said Musk's tweets about taking the company private were fraudulent and the billionaire could retain his role as CEO but should quit as chairman.

Musk said in August he was considering taking Tesla private in a $US420 ($A577) a share and that he had secured funding for a deal that was later scuttled but attracted scrutiny from several government agencies.

The appointment of Denholm caps months of turbulence for the company and its stock and investors called for stronger oversight of Musk, whose recent erratic public behaviour raised concerns about his ability to steer the company through a rocky phase of growth.

Denholm is currently chief financial officer at Telstra and has been an independent director on Tesla's board since 2014.

Denholm will leave her role as CFO and head of strategy at Telstra once her six-month notice period with the company is complete, Tesla said. She was appointed as Telstra's CFO in July.

Tesla said Denholm will be serving as chair on a full-time basis and she will temporarily step down as chair of the company's audit committee until she leaves Telstra.